Robotic interventional systems and devices are well suited for performing minimally invasive medical procedures as opposed to conventional techniques wherein the patient's body cavity is open to permit the surgeon's hands access to internal organs. Traditionally, surgery utilizing conventional procedures meant significant pain, long recovery times, lengthy work absences, and visible scarring. However, advances in technology have lead to significant changes in the field of medical surgery such that less invasive surgical procedures, in particular, minimally invasive surgery (MIS), are increasingly popular.
A “minimally invasive medical procedure” is generally defined as a procedure that is performed by entering the body through the skin, a body cavity, or an anatomical opening utilizing small incisions rather than large, open incisions in the body. Various medical procedures are considered to be minimally invasive including, for example, mitral and tricuspid valve procedures, patent formen ovale, atrial septal defect surgery, colon and rectal surgery, laparoscopic appendectomy, laparoscopic esophagectomy, laparoscopic hysterectomies, carotid angioplasty, vertebroplasty, endoscopic sinus surgery, thoracic surgery, donor nephrectomy, hypodermic injection, air-pressure injection, subdermal implants, endoscopy, percutaneous surgery, laparoscopic surgery, arthroscopic surgery, cryosurgery, microsurgery, biopsies, videoscope procedures, keyhole surgery, endovascular surgery, coronary catheterization, permanent spinal and brain electrodes, stereotactic surgery, and radioactivity-based medical imaging methods. With MIS, it is possible to achieve less operative trauma for the patient, reduced hospitalization time, less pain and scarring, reduced incidence of complications related to surgical trauma, lower costs, and a speedier recovery.
Special medical equipment may be used to perform MIS procedures. Typically, a surgeon inserts small tubes or ports into a patient and uses endoscopes or laparoscopes having a fiber optic camera, light source, or miniaturized surgical instruments. Without a traditional large and invasive incision, the surgeon is not able to see directly into the patient. Thus, the video camera serves as the surgeon's eyes. The images of the interior of the body are transmitted to an external video monitor to allow a surgeon to analyze the images, make a diagnosis, visually identify internal features, and perform surgical procedures based on the images presented on the monitor.
MIS procedures may involve minor surgery as well as more complex operations that involve robotic and computer technologies, which may be used during more complex surgical procedures and have led to improved visual magnification, electromechanical stabilization, and reduced number of incisions. The integration of robotic technologies with surgeon skill into surgical robotics enables surgeons to perform surgical procedures in new and more effective ways.
Although MIS techniques have advanced, physical limitations of certain types of medical equipment still have shortcomings and can be improved. While known devices may have been used effectively, they may lack the required or desired degrees of freedom and range of controllable motion. These issues may be particularly relevant in procedures involving routing of surgical devices around a number of turns or bends. Consequently, control of a tool or working instrument at the distal tip of an instrument that has traversed a number of curves may be difficult with known devices, thereby resulting in more complicated and/or less effective procedures.